Baby names for boys & girls with unique spelling

Sarah Walker Caron is an award winning journalist, freelance writer and editor. She lives a happy life in Maine with her two children, where they love to hike, visit the beaches and have lots of silly fun. Check out her food blog at Sara...

Check out the spelling!

With billions of people in the world, it can feel impossible to be unique. So if you are trying to think of a unique baby name and are coming up short, we have a solution for you. Take your favourite baby name and consider spelling it differently. It's a great way to personalize any name. Whether it's Leigh instead of Lee, or Kameron instead of Cameron, using unique spelling can give an otherwise traditional name a fun twist.

You only get to name your baby once, so picking out the perfect name can definitely be difficult: Do you go traditional? Non-traditional? Or do you absolutely love a traditional name but want something a little more unique? Choosing an alternate spelling might just be the way to go. Here are some different ways to spell your favourite moniker for baby name success.

Take a cue from the Kardashians

You can always take a cue from our new favourite reality family, the Kardashians, and make a name unique by changing the first letter or two of a name a la the Kardashian sisters - Kim, Khloe and Kourtney. Kim and Courtney are quite common names; Chloe is less common, but the unique twist comes from replacing the C with a K. This same letter swapping also works great with names that begin with G; you can easily spell them with a J instead.

Change the middle

Still looking for an uncommon and unique spelling for your baby-to-be's name? Try changing the middle of some of your favourite names to see if there is any other way you can spell it. For instance, you can easily replace a Y for an I, and a K can easily be substituted for an X to create a unique name. You could also omit a few letters and see what you come up with.

Switch up the ending

If you want to switch up the spelling of a name to make it unique, you don't have to stick to the beginning or middle of a name. The end of a name can also be altered to make it more unique.

Here are some examples and ideas:

Boy Names:

Andru instead of Andrew

Austen instead of Austin

Bruis instead of Bruce

Colyn instead of Collin

Dennez instead of Dennis

Elija instead of Elijah

Josef instead of Joseph

Lanz instead of Lance

Mathieu instead of Matthew

Tomaz instead of Thomas

Girl Names:

Ashleigh instead of Ashley

Abigayle instead of Abigail

Beatrix instead of Beatrice

Brittnee instead of Brittney

Danyell instead of Daniell

Debroah instead of Deborah

Erykka instead of Erica

Hadleigh instead of Hadley

Jezika instead of Jessica

Sumyr instead of Summer

Still having trouble?

If you haven't quite located the unique name or spelling, check out the SheKnows baby name directory. There, you can go through and find names that you like the sound of and consider how you could customize the spelling for a unique take on the usual. Or, maybe, you would prefer to bounce some baby name ideas off of other moms; check out the SheKnows message boards and connect with thousands of other moms!